


Stranded

by apostate_anima



Series: Black Heart Inertia [1]
Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: F/M, Lu Desei, Original Character(s), Original Female Character - Freeform, Original Female Drell Character, Pre-Relationship, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-22
Updated: 2017-05-22
Packaged: 2018-11-03 12:27:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10967229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apostate_anima/pseuds/apostate_anima
Summary: While out on a joint mission with an APEX strike team, Evfra becomes stranded with the team’s resident drell vanguard. On Elaaden of all places.





	Stranded

**Prompt:** _“You really… That’s not exactly meant to be eaten.”_

* * *

 

Evfra swore this was the last time he would go out in the field. He knew this to be untrue, he would never truly retire from missions while the fight against the kett continued. However, the heat was beginning to get on his nerves, even while he sat below the shade of one of Elaaden’s rare trees. Icy blue eyes gazed towards the broken down vehicle, watching his drell companion check the engine while she talked over the comms with the team’s mechanic.

Months ago he would not have believed he would be working on the field with an alien as an ally. Perhaps, after Meridian’s success, when Ryder more than proved her trust and capability (he wouldn’t be caught dead admitting that to her or Jaal), the idea became less strange. Of course, it didn’t mean he was on board from the get-go with every single alien involved in every mission he’d been directly involved in thereafter. Still, he’d come to slowly trust this one, this…drell woman. It wasn’t their first mission together after all.

“How long until your mechanic gets here?” Evfra asked once Lu finished her call.

“About half an hour,” she replied, rolling her shoulders while she leaned back against the refurbished Mako.

With a once over at the vehicle, he went on, “You’re sure you can’t fix it yourself?” Exasperation was clear in his voice and he made no effort to hide it.

Lu laughed at that, her double-toned voice rumbling with the action. “I punch and shoot assholes, I don’t know the first thing about repairing vehicles,” she shrugged. “I mean I could if given the instructions but I don’t have the replacement I need from what Meera told me. So we wait for her to get here.”

“Hmph.” Evfra crossed his arms over his chest, glancing away in annoyance. Of all the places to get stranded in…Elaaden. Elaaden.

As if noting his displeasure, Lu walked closer to where he was, stopping just before the tree’s minimal shade. “Relax, enjoy the sun while we wait.” With that comment, she turned slightly, inspecting the horizon before she set down her supply bag on the sand. Suddenly, she began undoing the clasps to her bodysuit, scaly grey skin quickly becoming exposed.

Evfra frowned in confusion, nose scrunching up while he looked up at her from where he sat. “What are you doing?”

Lu quirked an eye ridge at him just as she shrugged off the top part of her suit, her torso fully exposed. “Basking of course,” she chuffed and unceremoniously plopped down on the sand, stretching out her limbs and closing her eyes. “Drell thrive in arid climates. Haven’t had a good sunbath in a long while.”

“I hate it here,” the Resistance leader grunted whilst trying to tear his gaze away from her alien body.

He knew this woman was strong and a powerhouse in combat, but the evidence of her physical strength seemed more raw and obvious now in her half-nakedness. Well toned arms gave way to defined pectorals, her costal sides lined with dark grey ribbing, much like the ribbing below her frills and lining of the center of her neck. Her abdomen wasn’t short in the musculature department either, devoid of a belly button much like angara. Battle scars were evident here and there, and stripes of a desaturated dark teal tone adorned her forearms, shoulders, and hips. Evfra shook his head, mentally chastising himself for staring so long; then again, he hadn’t exactly taken to learning alien anatomy and physiology like Jaal had of every single Milky Way species.

“Angara don’t do well in heat,” he added, his tone heavy with annoyance.

“Hey, at least we’re not stuck in a cave, right?” Opening her eyes, she turned her head and glanced towards him, her light grey irises lined by black sclerae more visible than usual thanks to the bright sunlight.

“Hmm…You have a point,” he conceded, opting to relax his posture–but only slightly–by resting his arms on his knees. “Now that I think about it…I seem to always become stranded when I’m in missions where you’re present…” With that realization dawning on him, he narrowed his icy gaze at her. It wasn’t entirely true, not every mission where he’d had her on his team had he become stranded but the times he had recently it had been with her.

Lu rolled her eyes, pushing herself up on her elbows. “Voeld wasn’t stranded, the cave gave in behind us. It was survival.”

Evfra remained silent and tore his gaze away once more, looking instead to the endless sea of sand. After a moment he finally said, “You did good work that day. Kandros did well in picking you for APEX…and for your cooperative missions with the Resistance.”

The drell vanguard looked to him in mild surprise, taken aback by what could only be considered a compliment. From the grumpiest and most closed off angara she knew. Andromeda truly had a surprise in store for her each day. “So did you. Your people are lucky to have you as their Resistance leader.” It was barely there but she did offer a small smile.

He huffed, the sound reverberating within his chest. Keeping his gaze forward, he answered, “Someone had to do something.”

“Glad you did.”

Comfortable silence fell between the two then; Evfra had forgotten to keep time since Lu contacted her mechanic, and Lu was simply content in her sun bathing. It was so quiet that when Lu suddenly sat up and reached for her supply bag, Evfra’s shoulders jolted, visibly tensing at the sudden disruption of calm.

“What are you doing?” he demanded more than inquired in exasperation.

“I’m hungry,” she deadpanned and scoffed, briefly glancing at him, gesturing with her chin. “Aren’t you?”

“No. I just want off this heat,” he complained once more, lips pressed tightly. Despite his irritation, his eyes carefully followed what she was pulling out of the bag. There were both Initiative and Resistance supplies in there. It was so that when she pulled out a small plastic bag with small fruits meant only for angaran tea, he quirked an eyebrow at her. He noted how she curiously inspected one of the brightly colored fruits, rolling it in her palm and sniffing it, nodding to herself. “You really…” he was about to warn her—really, he was—but the drell had already taken a bite from it. Instantly, her whole face scrunched up and she spat out the piece that still remained in her mouth. “…That’s not exactly meant to be eaten…We only use that fruit to infuse some of our teas.”

Choking and spitting, she stuck out her forked tongue and fanned her hands over it. “And you tell me this–now?!” she glared, incredulity in her tone, her timbre a pitch higher. “Fuckin’ hell my tongue wants to die! Blegh! Who packed this, who wants tea in a desert planet?!”

Evfra tried to contain himself but there was something truly amusing about an alien popping strange food into their mouths without a second thought. Perhaps it was even funnier considering that, by what he knew of Lu by now, it was so rare to see her distressed and whining over something so innocuous, regret written all over her scrunched up features. She could take on the biggest kett soldiers without trouble, charge into battle with biotics flaring and slamming enemies into the void. Yet, a fruit had been her undoing today.

Slowly but surely laughter built deep in his chest, at first a barely audible rumbling noise until chuckles were all but escaping him. For a precious few moments, he was content to relax a bit more and let his present emotions flood out. It was truly a rarity have the chance to see the Resistance leader in this manner.

Lu looked at him as if he’d grown a second head, briefly forgetting the bitter and sour taste still assaulting her taste buds. “Stop laughing!” she yelled, chuffing in annoyance and spitting again, searching for something else in her bag. “I’ll get back at you, you’ll see!”

“You did this to yourself,” Evfra replied, calming his laughter yet looking at her with a smug smirk. “Try some water.”

“Yeah, yeah, that’s what I’m—there it is, gods thanks,” she sighed in relief when she finally found her water canteen, quickly chugging in big gulps.

The distinct sound of an engine drew their attention to a nearby dune, a desert bike quickly heading towards them, most likely Meera.

“Ugh, finally,” Lu gave another sigh of relief, coming to a stand and waving at her mechanic in the distance.

Evfra stood as well, side-eyeing her for a moment. He was about to stop bothering her but he just couldn’t resist reminding her of something she stated earlier. “I thought you liked the heat.”

Rolling her eyes dramatically, she huffed and retorted with a simple, “Shut up.”

* * *

 

I'm always open to more prompts, send some [here](http://animarosa.tumblr.com/tagged/prompts) if you want! If anyone is interested in knowing more of my drell lady, I got her tagged on tumblr over [here~](http://animarosa.tumblr.com/tagged/lu%20desei)

**Author's Note:**

> For anyone who likes OC/canon character pairings as much as I do, hope you enjoy these series of prompts :> Find me in tumblr @animarosa ~


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